The Nigerian military may have recorded a major victory in the war against Boko Haram as the man suspected to be mimicking late Abubakar Shekau in recent videos from the sect, may have been killed during the September 17th battle in Konduga, Borno state.
A senior military source said "it is getting more certain that the terrorists' commander who has been mimicking Shekau in those videos is the one killed in Konduga on September 17."
Sources at the image making company of the Nigerian government, PRNigeria, say the death of the man believed to be the leader of the group is responsible for the scattering of the sect members in different independent locations in neighboring countries.
Security sources did not deny the suspicion but cautioned that "the process of confirming that the dead body we have is the same as that character who has been posing as Shekau is ongoing. He is definitely a prominent terrorist commander. I don't want to say anything about this yet please."
Another high ranking military source said that the resemblance between the man killed and the one seen in recent videos posted by the sect group is quite striking, citing his facial marks, beards and teeth as some of the striking resemblance features.
Military officers say the Defence Headquarters will address the nation after a full investigation of their latest discovery has been done.
Meanwhile the Defense headquarters say five members of the sect group surrendered their arms to the Nigerian troops yesterday, pleading for mercy. They said some captured members of the sect group are helping with useful information regarding future planned attacks by the sect.
Source: PR Nigeria